Behind the Bench

What happened to retiring in style?

Nobody wants to be “that guy” on campus. The guy in the seventh year of his undergrad and still trying to fit in. The guy who tirelessly attempts to convince you that the victory lap is, in fact, cool. Allen Iverson has become “that guy.” On October 29, Allen Iverson[Read More…]

Dengue, typhoid, and a lesson learned

By virtually any measure, last month’s 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi were a complete disaster. A small budget wasn’t the issue but rather a large one was. With a cost of 30,000 Crore (300 billion Rupees), or close to $7 billion USD, they were easily the most expensive Commonwealth Games[Read More…]

The stadium mystique

I recently had to do a story on the renovated Molson Stadium, so I went to check it out one day. I was moved to recollection as I wandered through the concourses. “Recollection” is an inadequate word; rather, doors in my subconscious opened, emitting rich nostalgic air. I let it[Read More…]

THIRD MAN IN: Toronto Loud Mouth Needs to Walk the Walk

Dion Phaneuf is a loud guy. You can have endless debates about his abilities, about his paycheque, or about his girlfriend (notorious puck bunny Elisha Cuthbert), but there’s no debating his mouth. And while his brashness may have excited the Toronto Maple Leafs enough for them to name him captain, it has also gotten him into a lot of trouble.

THIRD MAN IN: Expecting the unexpected…and not getting it

Every few years, the stars will align to deliver the hard-core sports fan with an entire summer’s worth of quality entertainment. Of course, there are always specific dates in June, July, and August that are worth marking down, but only in the rarest of years can you justify to your parents, friends, or significant other the necessity of staying glued to a television or computer screen for 60 days straight.

THIRD MAN IN: Holding the court in contempt

To quote the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

THIRD MAN IN: No style points for soccer

Soccer, football, the beautiful game; whatever you want to call it, it’s a sport suffering from a debilitating illness. One symptom of this illness is players flying through the air whenever they are so much as grazed by an opposing player in a pathetic, yet all too often fruitful, attempt to draw the referee’s attention.

THIRD MAN IN: Hail to the true home run king

I hate this article. I hate the necessity of this debate. It disgusts me, as it disgusts many, that baseball has become a witch-hunt; a magnet for cynics. Baseball is a beautiful, unappreciated sport. It is exciting, deeply cerebral and rich with history.

THIRD MAN IN: Two Longs don’t make a right

Does anyone else hear that laughing? It’s coming from the south, somewhere below the 49th parallel. That sound is our American counterparts buckling over at our blind devotion to this pastime of ours-one which, yet again, has embarrassed us for taking it seriously.

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